


Let me speak (and I'll tell you something nice)

by dragoneyes



Series: The Prince and The Dragon [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Did I mention fluff?, Dragon!Cas, Fluff, Heaps of fluff, Interspecies Romance, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, no seriously, prince!Dean, the fluffiest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-14
Updated: 2014-09-14
Packaged: 2018-02-17 09:19:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2304614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragoneyes/pseuds/dragoneyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Dean panicks, he begins to babble. It doesn't help that Cas hasn't said a word so far.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let me speak (and I'll tell you something nice)

It was a mess.

It was a complete and utter mess.

Not only had Sam found out about his attempts at courting Cas – which still sounded weird even to him, because since when was he such a sap? – but of course, being his brother as unsubtle as he was, he'd to shout it out loud in front of Jo, Victor _and_ Castiel himself.

Granted, it might have actually been a good thing because, as far as Dean could tell, the dragon hadn't caught up with his gestures at all, instead treating them – probably out of a lack of understanding of human behavior – like nothing more than gifts between friends.

He could admit that the pie had been a bit ambiguous – friends gave each other food too, right? – and kind of a wild guess based more on his own preferences than any real knowledge of what the ideal courting present consisted in – he had never done this before, being more used to be chased by others than being the chaser.

The flowers, however, should have been obvious enough! Giving them to someone was considered romantic in every culture he was acquaintance with, and, although they might have brought a bit of an unexpected result with them – Cas rolling around in his cave like a cat on a catnip high, pupils blown wide and tail wildly whipping the air while Dean tried to run for his life and pieces of the dragon's hoard rained all around them – the same implications should have still stood.

When the dragon had calmed down, however, he had shown no hint of understanding what Dean's intentions towards him were, limiting himself to thank the prince for the gift and to comment that while he appreciated the gesture, he also had no interest in plants, as much as he had no idea how to take care of them. The whole ordeal had been, frankly, quite humiliating, so the following time he thought carefully before setting his mind on what to give him next. Food and flowers were obviously a no go, and that left only one present in the repertoire of classic wooing methods: jewelry.

In hindsight, it was ridiculous that he hadn't thought about that one before: Cas might be peaceful and generally unobtrusive, but he still was a dragon and, like every respectable dragons, he was keen on hoarding all kind of valuable objects. Dean had seen firsthand the hills of coins and gems that filled the innermost part of Castiel's nest, so, at the time, it had made complete sense for him to ask Chuck's assistance: he had noticed the dragon's preference for silver when it came down to precious metals – in the same way he'd also noted the other's favor for emeralds above all other gems – and he'd wasted no time in prompting the small jeweler to make a large bracelet out of the both of them.

He considered the result a win since the dragon had obviously appreciated the addition to his collection, even if the end product could barely fit as a ring on Castiel's huge paw – the dragon never wore any piece of his hoard anyway; he just liked to sleep on them or stare at them whenever he thought Dean was busy doing something else. For his efforts, the prince had received one of his friend's scales in return – the same scale he'd been keeping locked inside his desk before Sam had decided to change his job from Captain of the Royal Knights to Master Snoop – and, although it had become soon apparent that Cas hadn't understood what Dean was trying to accomplish with his gifts, he had still been extremely pleased with that particular outcome.

It had been obvious at that point that the best way to please his friend was to appease the instinctual lust for richness that was distinctive of Castiel's species, but there was also something else that he could use to his advantage: while greed was the primary reason why the dragon's nest was built with several hidden chambers filled by all kind of treasures, Dean had come to realize from his friend's stories that his kin also greatly enjoying having complete sets of valuables. This considered, the prince had taken advantage of all his connections to gather silver coins from as many different countries as he could, grouping them together in different pouches and presenting them to the dragon as one single, bigger collection.

The result had been...mixed. Dean had been sure that his intentions would finally be understood, but Castiel had simply thanked him again, swept the present in his paws, and had returned the gesture with the silver buckle that the prince was even now sporting on his belt. Admittedly, watching the dragon fret over finding the best place in his hoard where to lay the received gift had been kind of endearing, but the prince had started to lose all hope that his attempts would ever give the craved results.

By the time Dean had presented his friend with a silver dagger – and had received a necklace in return – he was despairing that the dragon would ever catch up with his affections: sure, the pendant was imbued with magical properties to protect him against evil, but the whole exchange had left him with a sour taste in his mouth, since he couldn't help thinking that Castiel was probably convinced that giving something in return was just common courtesy – or worse, that they'd struck some kind of deal.

He had started to consider giving up on the whole endeavor when the maddening events with the wyverns from a few hours before happened, putting a wrench in his plan to just let the whole thing quietly die out on its own.

How was he supposed to deal with Castiel's queries once they finally hit the ground again?

The dragon had yet to properly demand an explanation for what had transpired thanks to Sam's inability to keep his mouth under control, but Dean had no illusion that the other wouldn't start questioning him as soon as they reached his nest.

What was he supposed to tell him? That against all odds and every law of nature, he'd managed to fall for a giant, talking lizard? That he was apparently such a screw up that his body not only couldn't distinguish the proper gender he should be attracted to, but not even the proper species?

Even if he did admit to his feelings for that weird – sweet, kind, supportive – oddball that was his dragon friend, there was no way they would be reciprocated. The chances of Castiel hiding a deeper affection towards him than the one reserved for friends were so low that the prince despaired with the mere thought of it.

And what about afterwards? If – when – the dragon rejected him, would they be able to go back to the way they were? To the easy friendship that allowed them to talk for hours without any inkling of boredom or restlessness?

It was like being stuck between two warring armies with no way to stop either of them.

He was so lost in his quiet freak out that for most of the way he was unaware of what was going on around him – he supposed he should be grateful for it, as adding his aversion to flight to his current state of mind would probably have proved to be a bit too much for his nerves to handle – only pulling himself back together when the dragon landed on the crooked path that led to his nest.

With careful moves, Castiel lowered his paws, letting Dean jump out of his hold with ease. Their eyes met and the prince squirmed under the other's blue gaze: the dragon still hadn't shown any intention to be the first to talk, limiting himself to study his human friend with speculative focus.

"I'm sorry!" Dean blurted out once the awkwardness between them became just too much for him to bear, "I'm sorry, I know this is weird as fuck..." he bit on his lower lip, trying without success to read the other's expression.

The dragon didn't reply at first, much more invested in peering at the prince's face like he was trying to access his mind through his eyes; then the rumble of his voice slowly filled the air.

"Dean," he sounded perfectly calm when he spoke, repeating the question that had been left unanswered so far, "were you courting me?"

The prince sighed, raising a hand to rub the side of his face. He could feel his cheeks tingle while they flushed red with embarrassment and guilt, and he absently let his tongue out of his mouth to wet his dried lips.

Well, there went nothing.

"I...yeah. Yeah, I was," he admitted as he studied the other's face in search of a reaction, "I know it's weird – I mean, you're a freaking dragon and I'm a human! – but..." he shrugged helplessly, not sure himself how to explain what was passing through his mind. How to explain that Cas was the only one who seemed to constantly worry about him, to constantly make sure that he was happy, to appreciate him because he was himself.

For his parents he needed to be a perfect son; for Sam he needed to be a good older brother; for his friends and the rest of the kingdom he needed to be a righteous prince.

Cas needed none of that.

Cas was a dragon and there was nothing that he could ever need out of Dean.

He necessitated of absolutely nothing and yet he was still perfectly content with passing time by sitting under the sun with him and talk about the weirdest topic. To go hunting together. To kidnapping him every time he needed the other's assistance. To just be in the same place with him even if only to sleep, curled up against each other.

Castiel tilted his head, his eyes still completely focused on the prince's, before his expression softened in something kinder. The friendly affection that the dragon felt for him was easy to see, but Dean didn't dare to hope for more.

"Dean," Cas called him again and the human braced himself for the rejection that surely was about to follow, "by nature dragons don't like to share: we hoard, we take and we keep. Once something is ours, it is ours, and the idea of giving it away is anathema to us."

The prince frowned: yes, he knew about that – it was common knowledge about his friend's kin – but what did it have to do with him?

His confusion must have shown on his face, because the dragon took a look at his expression and shifted his head closer to become the sole focus of Dean's attention.

"I don't think you understand me," Castiel commented, his voice dropping even lower, almost to a possessive growl. "We _do not_ share. Not any part of our body and certainly not any part of our hoard."

Oh.

_Oh._

With a sharp intake of breath Dean's eyes flew open, his mouth opening and closing without emitting a sound while his mind madly scrambled to assimilate that new piece of information: how had he not seen it? How had he missed such a glaring clue?

"Cas," he roughly said the other's name while he took a few instinctive steps closer, until he was standing right in front of one of the dragon's blue eyes. They were staring at each other in complete silence, but with such intensity that a part of the prince's mind idly wondered how it was possible for the air between them not to have caught on fire yet.

"Yes," the dragon spoke at last. "The answer is 'yes', Dean."

Without further prompting, the prince leaped.

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone interested I got a tumblr right here: <http://dragoneyes.tumblr.com/>  
> There are a couple of fanarts I drew for this 'verse lurking about over there. Also I post all my other fanfictions and fanarts as well.


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